Published: October 18, 2008 12:08 am      

Ginseng industry

Maryland Native Plant Society chapter meets Tuesday

FROSTBURG — Members of the Western Mountains Chapter of the Maryland Native Plant Society will hear a presentation about the ginseng industry when they meet at the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Eric Burkhart, instructor and program director for Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center in Pennsylvania, will give his PowerPoint presentation called “The Deep and Tangled Roots of Pennsylvania’s Ginseng Industry.” His program will follow a brief business meeting.

American ginseng is a native North American forest plant whose root is harvested for the international medicinal plant trade. Burkhart, doctoral candidate with the Penn State School of Forest Resources, will share results from his recently concluded four-year study of the Pennsylvania ginseng industry. The history, importance and complexity of the industry will be discussed along with what is known about the status of one of North America’s most valuable and vulnerable plants.

Burkhart provides training and outreach in botany and horticulture, including teaching courses for the Penn State School of Forest Resources on agroforestry, woody and herbaceous plant identification, and non-native invasive flora. Working with partners such as the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, he conducts research on native plants of economic and conservation importance and offers practical guidance through related workshops and publications.

A graduate of Penn State University with a master’s degree in horticulture, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in economic botany/ethnobotany from Idaho State University.

Burkhart is a native of the Pittsburgh region who lives in Pine Grove Mills, Pa., with his wife, Lisa White, a local artisan.

Anyone interested in learning more about and conserving the native plants of the region may join the Western Mountains Chapter. For more information, call Liz McDowell at (301) 895-3686 or log on to www.mdflora.org/chapters.